The SpokeSman • TueSday, ocTober 4, 2022 A11
BOOKSHELF
PUBLIC NOTICE
submitted photo
Josie Hanneman
Find the
right book
for the
right kid
BY JOSIE HANNEMAN
S
chool is back in session
and it’s time to find some
great books for our stu-
dents.
It can be particularly chal-
lenging to find the right book
for a child or teen as some
are reading above grade level,
some below; some children are
mature beyond their years, and
others are late bloomers and
prefer to stay in childhood.
Each child is unique in their
interests and desired reading
format. Because of this there is
no one perfect book that will
work for every child in a class,
or in a grade level. We recom-
mend that parents talk to their
children, their children’s teach-
ers, and their librarians to find
a great book for their child, re-
gardless of age, reading level,
or interest. The conversation
between parent and child is a
building block to lifelong read-
ing and learning.
Here are a few new titles that
we recommend, with a middle
grade focus:
”UNFADEABLE” BY MAURICE
BROADDUS
Bella Fades is trying to lay
low for the summer. She’s a
graffiti artist, but she’s keep-
ing her tagging quiet since she
doesn’t want anyone in social
services to know she’s basi-
cally taking care of herself. But
when she finds out that pow-
erful people are taking money
from her Indianapolis neigh-
borhood, she has to start trust-
ing her neighbors in order to
fight back.
This story covers some seri-
ous topics like homelessness,
schizophrenia and racism,
but they are part of the story,
not lecture-y. If you like Kelly
Yang’s “Front Desk,” or any-
thing by Jason Reynolds, this
might be a great book for you.
School Library Journal rec-
ommends this book for grades
4-7.
”THE PRISONER OF
SHIVERSTONE” BY LINETTE
MOORE
Helga arrives at Utley Is-
land under slightly suspicious
circumstances, but convinces
the guards that she’s been ship-
wrecked. Her secret mission is
make contact with the impris-
oned scientists held there, and
rescue one of them. This is not
a straight up mystery — it’s a bit
adventure, a bit science fiction,
a little fantasy, and definitely a
graphic novel. There’s even a bit
of humor. School Library Jour-
nal recommends this book for
grades 4-7.
”THE LUCKY ONES” BY LINDA
WILLIAMS JACKSON
Ellis Earl Brown has big
dreams — he’d like to grow up
to be a teacher, or a lawyer, or
maybe both. But his family of 8
siblings, plus a cousin, struggles.
Ellis loves school, his teacher
and reading. When he discov-
ers a copy of “Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory,” he’s amazed
to find a family worse off than
his own. Their happy ending
gives him hope.
When Senator Robert F Ken-
ney plans on visiting Ellis’ state
and he’s invited to be part of
the welcoming party, he won-
ders if his family’s luck might
be turning around. Will he be
one of the lucky ones? If you like
more modern historical fiction,
you can also try “Countdown”
by Deborah Wiles, or “One
Crazy Summer” by Rita Wil-
liams-Garcia. School Library
Journal recommends this book
for grades 3-6.
” Josie Hanneman is a librarian with the
Deschutes County Library.